I've been late in getting my posts about training walks up because...well, because I've been busy! Class, work, getting ready for the 3 Day, trying to still have a life, etc...

I'm not going to write a lot about my walk last weekend - I did 10.5 miles, it was at least sprinkling the whole way. I got wet, but not soaked. I didn't bother with the poncho, and it worked out fine. I also tested out carrying my DSLR in my waist pack instead of my point and shoot that I've been taking pictures with all along and decided I'm doing it for the walk! Yay! I've been spoiled by the quality of pictures with my SLR and now when I look at the ones I get from my PnS I'm always wishing I had taken my SLR instead...so now I am! Yay! Example of pretty picture I took with SLR on last Saturday's walk:



I was successful in not getting blisters on the walk, which was exciting.  Here are the last of the training numbers!
Miles walked this (last) week: 10
Total miles walked: 330
Training miles left: ZERO
Days Hours to go: 21.5
Mistakes made: 5
Blisters: 12


I'm all packed and I leave work at lunch to head to the airport. Alyssa is taking the bus down from NY and I'll pick her up tonight, and then she Emily and I head to the start by 6:30 tomorrow morning (Jen has to be there at 4, so we decided we'd get a ride from some one else!!!). EEK. To be honest, I'm more nervous about making sure everything at work is set for me to be gone for 2 days and about getting to DC given the overcast/rainy-ness going on here in Boston today. It's not bad now and if it stays like this or gets better I'll be fine. Also, I heart Jet Blue and can't wait to catch up on some trashy cable TV while I fly!

I'll have an update later next week (I get back Monday and have class Monday night, so probably mid-week at the earliest) and plenty of pictures...and so here's your task for the weekend: weigh in on how many pictures you think I'll take this weekend, and whoever comes the closest (without going over, of course!) will get some prize that I'll obtain for you over the weekend...fun times! To help you out, here's some stats on my photo taking habits:

-In April, I spent 4 days in California (indlucing attending a wedding where we didn't know many other people) and took about 300 photos.
-In March, at another friends wedding (where we we were about a dozen friends), I took about 270 photos.
-On average, when not attending an event or traveling, I take about 400-500 pictures.
- I have two 2 GB memory cards and 2 charged batteries packed!

I only just realized that I never wrote about my 15 miles from two weeks ago....oops! Quick recap: it was actually one of the better walks I've had, and I finished with the biggest blister I've had yet. Fun times! I would have planned my route differently if I had known that the T was running shuttle buses from JFK/UMass to Ashmont, but they failed to post all the usual posters and pass out the usual flyers at Ashmont, so I had to sit on a not very cool bus for twice the amount of time it usually takes to get home. Oh well....I survived, and I felt better than I expected to. I talked Pete's ear off when I got home, because by then I was pretty darn tired of being alone and not talking. I also am sure that plenty of the ten guh-zillion people out enjoying the gorgeous weather in Southie thought I looked crazy out there in my walking gear. I also saw lots and lots of very cute dogs that I wanted to steal, including one little puppy whose owners were not holding onto it's leash, and at one point it darted away from them on the beach towards the walkway I was on...tempting!

Pretty picture from my 15 mile walk is here.

Here are numbers from after that walk:
Miles walked this week: 39
Total miles walked: 288
Training miles left: 100
Days to go: 26
Mistakes made: 5
Blisters: 10

Now catching up to yesterday....I didn't do the training walks last weekend because Pete's parents were in town, but we did get a few miles of walking in when we were doing the tourist thing in Salem. I missed one weekday walk each of the past two weeks as well - busy busy busy. Two weeks to go until The 3 Day and this weekend is 18 miles and 10 miles. I worked out a different route for these 18 miles so I wouldn't get bored (or lost in Blue Hills again), which started at Mike and Leyre's house and finished at my house. Obviously not a straight line, but a very scenic one! I walked through the Arboretum and then along the Emerald necklace - Jamaica Pond, Olmstead Park, The Fens - and onto the Esplanade. From there it was slightly less scenic for a bit - Charles St to Boston Common, then through the finanical district to South Station. I had a small lunch at South Station, changed my socks, and headed back out and towards Southie down Summer St to L St - the least scenic part of the walk - until I hit the water. Then it was along the water (for the most part) back home to Dorchester. By the time I was .25 miles away and the trolley was stopping right next to me at Butler, I was VERY TEMPTED to hop on for the last bit, but finally decided that would be a bit ridiculous and kept walking. In the end it was about 19.9 miles. How is it that I always head out to do 18 and end up doing 19.something?

I also took lots of pretty pictures today, because I'm a sucker for just about anything set against crisp blue skies:
( Lots of pictures under here... )

....Now back the walking...

I have the same big fat blister on my left heel as I did after last weeks 18/15, and a smaller version in the same place on my right heel. I was better prepared for that and had bandaids that were an appropriate size and actually stuck where I put them this time, which made it significantly less painful to walk after they popped up. The bottom of my feet were not so happy this time around, but that's likely because I need to do laundry and don't have any of my awesome padded socks left to wear. No sunburn today, either, because it was perfect weather for walking - low 60's, no humidity, partly cloudy, and a light breeze - and I was wearing pants and a long sleeved t-shirt for most of the walk.

I should have known that walking through the Arboretum would mean seeing lots of adorable dogs. There were at least two steal-able dogs: one husky that was racing around so far from it's owners that I could barely hear them calling from behind me and barely see the dog in front of me, and one that looked like a gray and white oversized chow who was ambling along with no owner in sight. There were also a number of not steal-able dogs: one awesome Australian Cattle Dog, an incredibly hairy English Sheepdog, lots of pugs, a very sad looking Basset Hound. I saw one of the most beautiful Goldens I've ever seen in Brookline near Longwood...but it wasn't until the Esplanade that I was really trying to figure out how to steal someone's dog and get away with it, because that was when I came across the most awesomest adorablest Bernese Mountain Dog, who was so well behaved and so good with the little 2 year old girl that owned him. Too bad he was leashed and tied on to the stroller!

Moving on from the doggies...I also saw an albino squirrel by Jamaica Pond:




And now on to the numbers:
Miles walked this week: 24
Total miles walked: 320
Training miles left: 40
Days to go: 13 (HOLY CRAP)
Mistakes made: 5
Blisters: 12

This weekend is the super high mileage weekend - 18 miles today and 15 miles tomorrow, designed to get you ready for the schedule and the back-to-back nature of the actual 3 Day. I've been a slacker on the weekend walks since mid-August, but I knew that I couldn't slack this weekend. This morning I was up around 7:30 (no alarm - grrrr - what happened to the days when I could happily sleep in?!), lounged around for a bit, had a fried egg and cheese sandwich and plenty of water for breakfast, and then headed out the door right around 9:00. And into the overcast, muggy, most disgusting weather I've walked in yet. Awesome! I guess it's better than getting rained on, but since that hasn't happened yet, I kept finding myself praying for rain throughout my walk, thinking it would be nicer than the disgusting humidity. You're in for a treat today, as well, because I was more than a bit camera crazy for the first few miles of my walk...right up until I realized that I had only gone 2 miles in about 46 minutes, which is WAY slower than my usual pace! That was when I put away my camera because I knew if I didn't, I wouldn't make it home before Hannah and her rain caught up with me.
 

( More behind the cut! )

Here are the numbers:
Miles walked this week: 24
Total miles walked: 273
Training miles left: 115
Days to go: 27
Mistakes made: 5
Blisters: 9

I've been not good about my walking lately! Time to get back on track for one last, high mileage month! Good news: thanks to Librivox, I've got David Copperfield to keep me company for the next 33ish hours...which is most of the walking I'll be doing solo this month. This weekend is a big one - 18 miles and 15 miles back to back, so that you get a better idea of how you'll really feel on the 3 Day. Maybe I should sleep outside in a tent Saturday night to really get the full effect...or not. I heard someone saying that we're supposed to get rain this weekend, so I'm sure that will be really fun for me. I haven't sorted out my route for Saturday yet, but I'll be headed back to Blue Hills Reservation for the 15 miles on Sunday.

I haven't done much weekend walking lately - I wanted my life back! I did about 5 miles this past Saturday, and then nothing the rest of the weekend. Not that I didn't have time to, just that I really enjoyed relaxing and being lazy. Oh well.  Anyway, the numbers are updated, so where's where I'm at now...

Here are the numbers:
Miles walked this week: 5
Total miles walked: 254
Training miles left: 138
Days to go: 30 (Holy crap!)
Mistakes made: 5
Blisters: 9


More to come this weekend - and likely pictures, too! Perhaps the rain will bring even more mushrooms! Is that how mushrooms work? I don't know, but they seem like the kind of thing that would grow abundantly in rainy weather.

I owe you more of a complete update than this, but you'll have to settle for this in the mean time! More tomorrow (I think).  The details for our walk are starting to trickle in, and here's the first one: you can send us mail to pick up at the post office at camp!  Here are the details....

You’ve Got Mail
There’s nothing like a letter from a loved one to inspire you to keep going. Your friends, family and supporters can write a letter to you, which we’ll deliver to you on the event at the Breast Cancer 3-Day Camp Post Office inside the 3-Day Cafe.

Send letters to:
Breast Cancer 3-Day Camp Post Office
ATTN: SARAH GIACCAI
P.O. Box 50273
Washington, DC 20091

Envelopes only, please. No boxes or large packages. Mail must be postmarked no later than September 23rd in order to ensure delivery at the Breast Cancer 3-Day Camp Post Office.

Bring on the letters and the postcards, friends!!!

This weekend is a walking vacation.  Not as in a vacation where I do a lot of walking, but as in I'm taking a vacation FROM walking.  I'm feeling a bit burnt out and like I don't do anything but walk, work, eat, and sleep.  A break was in order, and this weekend was a low mileage one anyway (8 miles and 6 miles).  Instead of walking, I went shopping for lots of walk related things - because I finally had time to since I wasn't walking all day!!! 

First stop was Marathon Sports to get fitted for new shoes.  I ended up with the Brooks Dyad 5, and a 10% discount.  Yay to the guys at Marathon Sports, who were totally awesome.  And of course, it's a "small world" - the guy that fitted me for the shoes is a college student who is thinking about moving to DC after he graduates, so after I mentioned I was walking there he asked why and that led to me giving him the scoop on living in DC.  There goes another $85 I didn't plan on spending when I signed up for this walk....

Second stop was EMS to look for a Klean Kanteen, but I ended up with a second Sigg.  Not a big deal, but a regular ice cube doesn't fit through the narrow mouth and it's not dishwasher safe, so it's harder to clean the Gatorade out of!  In the end I picked the design that was Pete's favorite, because none of them really matched my current Sigg.  Pete thought it was ridiculous that it took me so long to decide on which one I wanted.  I'm dumb, and just looked up and realized that I could have gotten a 15% discount on the bottle.  I thought I mentioned the 3 Day to the guy, but apparently not.  Oh well....$21.99 added to the tally.  At least it's tax holiday weekend, right?

Third stop was lunch at Cottonwood Cafe, which was super tasty, but that's another story.

Last stop was Target.  New socks, although not the same ones I know and love!  They didn't have any of the ones I've already bought, so I ended up with some moisture wicking cushioned socks, and that's fine.  I also bought new sports bras, because 2 of the 3 I've been wearing?  Yeah, bought those in high school.  If any of the ladies out there are in the market for a sports bra, this one is ridiculously comfy.  Although I'm not sure it would be sufficient for running or other more active sports than walking, if you know what I'm saying.  Of course I bought 2 pink ones!  They were on sale, which I didn't realize until I was paying or I would have bought a third one.  Add another $29 to the tally.  I also bought a tupperware container for the kitten's dry food, because Barley has been opening the kitchen cabinets and TEARING OPEN THE BAG.  Apparently her food tastes that much better than his.  I digress.

$126 more dollars spent on the 3 Day.  Plus the THIRD CAN of sunscreen I had to buy this week - really $132 spent on the 3 Day this week.  OH WAIT.  I bought plane tickets, too!  Make the grand total for this week $301.  Seriously folks, I had no idea how much I was going to spend on this 3 Day.  Money wise, time wise, energy wise.

I'm thoroughly enjoying my walking vacation, and I'll be back to walking again on Tuesday!  In the meantime...

Here are the numbers:
Miles walked this week: 5
Total miles walked: 222
Training miles left: 202
Days to go: 48 (!!!)
Mistakes made: 5
Blisters: 9

I missed one of this week's week night walks - for the second week in a row. Instead of walking on Thursday, I went to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum with Amanda (last week it was drinks with the Aussie Posse Girls on the roof deck at Rattlesnake). It was very worth skipping a walk for (as was last week)! I could have made it up on Friday, but it was a pretty long week, so Pete and I watched 3 episodes of The Wire instead. We've only got one disc left of season 2, and I can't wait to see how the season ends! I digress...I did spend some time planning both of my walks for this weekend. One of the reasons I've been doing my Saturday walks and skipping Sundays is because I focus so much on planning my longer Saturday walks that I don't plan a route for Sunday, and then don't have time/desire to do it Saturday afternoon. This week I planned out both days so that I'll have no excuse tomorrow morning!

Today's walk was supposed to be 15, and I wanted to go back to Blue Hills - it's cooler on the trails because you get so much shade, it adds in elevation so that I'm ready for whatever the 3 Day brings, and it's nicer than having to cross a million streets on the long walks. The hard part is that I can guesstimate what mileage I'll do on the trails and know what mileage I do to get to the trail heads and back, but I don't necessarily know exactly what my walk will be when all is said and done. I knew I needed to do about 7.5 miles in the reservation and then hop back on the road home. In the end I did an extra mile on the trails, but it was so lovely! The first 4ish miles in the reservation were a little more difficult (the last 1 mile was on the Sky Line Trail, and you heard how I feel about that trail after last week!), but the last 4.3 miles were a lot more rambling and relaxing.  Jane Eyre kept me company until about mile 10 of the walk, and I have to say that it ended and I actually said out loud (because I didn't come across many people on the trails) "Really?! THAT is how it ends?!" I kind of wanted it to go another direction. Oh well.




I have officially dubbed today's walk The Walk of Many Mushrooms, and you can browse these photos to see why (and also to see the cute kitties and random other walk related photos from today).  Seriously.  Mushrooms EVERYWHERE.  I only took pictures of the interesting ones for about the first 2 miles of trails, then there were so many of them that I got tired of pulling my camera out and putting it back...and it was slowing me down! I wouldn't have been able to keep count of all of them if I had tried.

In "encounters with other hikers" news, I think I was actually drooling when I walked by the lady with the D200 and a giant macro lens taking pictures of two very purple mushrooms. I would like to own a D200. I don't even need a macro lens to go with it. I said I didn't come across a lot of people on the trails, but I did come across a woman about my size that was walking a Great Dane, which was about much-bigger-than-my-size. He was awesome, and he came towards me on the trail and totally looked at me and stopped right next to me like "lady, you will now pet me". I pet him, and the woman started laughing and said "you're the only woman we've seen and he wants you to pet him - we passed a bunch of men and he barked at every one of them!" I found that rather amusing. I would like to note here that I'm not the tiniest bit afraid of dogs, and I love them and want one of my very own (I'll take one of these, please!), but I will admit that it's a bit intimidating when a full grown Great Dane is coming down the trail towards you.

I stopped about 8 miles into today's walk to stretch and eat my Odwalla Bar, and I felt GREAT after that (which was good, because then I headed straight up a pretty steep trail). I waited until I was out of Blue Hills to change my socks, because I figured I'd just end up with more dirt and pine needles and whatever else in my "clean" socks if I changed them before then. It worked out really well - I stretched some more and changed my socks and then started on the 5ish miles home feeling pretty good. And then I realized the street I was on didn't have sidewalks for the first mile or so...oops! It did, however, have lots of big, pretty houses to admire as I walked by.

I feel like I've gotten a good handle on eating a good breakfast (fried egg and cheese sandwich), what to bring as a snack (Odwalla bar, and/or peanut butter and banana sandwich), hydrating (water until about 1/2 way through, then water and Gatorade), and what to eat when I'm done (usually pasta, sometimes pasta and meatballs). I need to work on stretching more, but especially when I'm alone I don't stretch as often because I just want to get the walking over with!!! Today's walk took me 5 hours and 32 minutes - and that's a long time to be alone for someone like me who doesn't like to be alone and loves to talk....and stretching slows me down, even if I do feel much better after it.

Tomorrow I'm doing the same 11 mile route through Milton and Quincy I did a few weeks back - NO EXCUSES!

Here are the numbers:
Miles walked this week: 20
Total miles walked: 217
Training miles left: 248
Days to go: 55
Mistakes made: 5
Blisters: 9